Just A Scratch
by NMatias
Summary: The Raiders decided to attack Sanctuary Hills when the Sole Survivor wasn't around. Piper and the others are pinned. Jayd comes back from one of her missions with Dogmeat and comes to their rescue - gets injured in the process, however. Piper Wright/F!S.S. Comments and reviews are welcome.
1. Homecoming

Jayd sighed in relief as she saw the familiar Red Rocket Stop in the distance. The sun was making its slow descent to the horizon behind her, indicating it would be nighttime soon. The wary Sole Survivor was all too overjoyed she had managed to return to Sanctuary Hills in time. Camping out in the Wasteland tends to be a gamble, at this point. Jayd didn't dare to imagine whatever else would roam the radiated lands during late hours of the night.

Ghouls, Deathclaws, and other radiated animals were enough to deal with.

Beside her, Dogmeat trotted happily, his tongue lolling out from the side. Jayd chuckled softly at the sight and scratched behind his ears affectionately.

"That's right, boy," she cooed. "We'll be home soon. I'm sure the kids would love playing with you again."

The German Shepherd's tail wagged all the more excitedly, prompting a happy _woof_. Jayd had been gone for almost a month and had only brought Dogmeat this time for her venture. She thought the others deserved a break and Piper needed to take care of Nat in Diamond City, despite the reporter's protest that "Nat was fine with her nanny."

Outpost Zimonja needed a better home and she decided to help them build one for the settlers living just northeast from Sanctuary Hills. They were amongst the few settlements that were far from civilization and wouldn't get much outside help other than the Minutemen's. Being General of the Minutemen meant any settlements allied with them also fell upon her protection and responsibility. It was exhausting work sometimes, having to travel throughout the Commonwealth from settlement to another. However, it was a comforting thought knowing the settlers within their alliance had some piece of normalcy in their lives.

As they got closer to the truck stop, Jayd heard the familiar sounds of a gunfight in the distance. Dogmeat instantly lowered himself to the ground, a low and warning growl reverberating from his chest. The fur along his spine stood on its ends. Jayd felt her blood turn ice cold when the gunshots seemed to come from. . .

 _Shit!_

"Let's go, Dogmeat!" She shouted, bursting into a sprint up the steep road. Dogmeat barked, quickly changing his pace into a gallop. Jayd reached to her side and pulled out the _.44 Pistol_ from its strap. She tossed her pack onto the side of the street, behind the guardrails, reminding herself to come back for it later. When they approached the damaged yet still intact wooden bridge, Jayd's suspicions were confirmed at the sound of screams of pain and cries of loss in the distance. The sound of maniacal laughter and cheers from rough and raspy voices being amongst them.

 _Raiders._

There were three standing by the entrance of Sanctuary Hills with one of them carrying a minigun and spraying the neighborhood - and any unfortunate settler caught in the crossfire - with bullet holes. Jayd felt nothing but rage as she crossed the bridge, her booted footsteps catching the attention of the raiders before her. They whirled around, wanting to find the source behind the hurried footsteps behind them. By the time the three raiders had faced her completely, Dogmeat had rushed forward, leaping into the air and crashing into the Raider with the minigun. The German Shepherd clamped his sharp, canine teeth down onto the throat of the dirtied Raider as he collapsed onto the ground.

His dying breath was nothing but a blood-gurgled scream as Dogmeat ripped his jugular to shreds.

The other two shouted out of shock and pointed their weapons on the dog. Jayd aimed her pistol and fired off two shots, quickly disposing them before they could harm her furred companion.

"Bout' goddamn, freakin' time!"

Jayd looked up. Cait, alongside with Hancock and MacCready, slipped out of cover and ran to her. With the exception of the fiery redhead, both Hancock and MacCready wore grim and panicked expressions. She couldn't blame them, especially when several members of the settlers were scattered along the street; their bodies limp as they lay on top of a pool of their own blood. Some were nothing but unrecognizable corpses filled with bullet holes.

Hancock nodded at her, flashing her a small smirk. "Couldn't have cut it close there, pal."

"Cowards had us pinned," MacCready panted, running a hand down his face. "While a group of them snuck behind the houses and made their way deeper into the settlement. The others herded everyone back to the safehouse when things got worse. We manage to take down a few of them, but we just couldn't - " He looked over his shoulder, looking at the dead bodies.

Cait cocked her shotgun, refilling the empty barrel with more shotgun shells, her glare even more murderous than usual. "There were at least ten of em'. Maybe even more if they're so hellbent on takin' over."

Jayd nodded. The situation was a lot more gruesome than she could had originally thought.

"So, what's the plan?" Hancock asked.

Jayd looked past them and towards the direction of the safehouse. She hoped it was holding up long enough for them to get there in time. The safehouse was just a safety precaution at first, since more and more settlers were making their towards Sanctuary as the weeks come and go. The safehouse served the purpose of being a fortress for them to retreat into if a threat they couldn't handle ever arises. Today, Jayd was all the more glad she had decided to go through with it and had the safehouse built. But she needed to turn the tables quickly or else the Raiders would find some creative way to get into the safehouse.

"Let's not waste anymore time then. Make every single one of these bastards _pay_." Jayd practically growled.

Cait smirked menacingly at the thought. "Couldn't have said it better meself."


	2. Aftermath

"Hey!" One of the settlers shouted over the hail of gunfire and bullets ricocheting off the metal walls outside, hope evident in his voice. "The minigun stopped!"

"Yeah, that's great!" Nick Valentine retorted back. An audible boom coming from his revolver as he fired. "But we still have these knuckleheads outside to deal with!"

Piper couldn't have agreed more as she fired random shots over her shoulder, hoping it would luckily hit any of the Raiders outside. They were pinned down with no other options as the Raiders constantly fired at them with what they got. The Raiders weren't giving them a chance to pop out of cover and retaliate. The last time Piper tried to brave the hail of bullets, she ended up getting shot in the arm for her attempt. She, Nick, Preston, Curie, Codsworth, and Deacon managed to hole themselves in the safehouse with the remaining settlers that survived the initial ambush. Not all came out of it unscathed but their injuries weren't too severe, at least. Curie was busy checking on the settlers and tending to the injured. Mama Murphy, Codsworth, and some of the parents had hid themselves in the attic.

Deep down, however; Piper feared the worse as she thought about the minigun and that it had stopped shooting. The last time she had seen Cait, Hancock, and MacCready they were defending the entrance with other settlers who had at least knew how to aim and shoot a weapon.

Were Cait and the others gunned down?

" _Fuck! She's ba_ \- agh!"

The sound of a shotgun being fired cut through her train of thought.

 _Boom! Boom!_

Cait's enraged voice was audible as new sets of gunfire entered the fray. "Not so tough now, ya' fuckers!"

Piper blinked, instantly peeking her head out of cover. Through the shattered and shredded remains of the window, Cait had kicked over one of the patio tables and used it as her cover. Hancock and MacCready had done the same to one of the long tables they would use whenever the weather was good enough to eat outside. What truly caught Piper's attention was the flash of dark, blonde hair cutting through the forces. Jayd was nothing more than flurry of movements. She dodged a lunge from a Raider wielding machete only to jab her combat knife deep into their skull and used their corpse as her shield, brandishing her pistol and firing at the Raiders closest to her. Her aim as true as three of them collapsed with indisputable bullet holes on their foreheads. A series of threatening barks was also heard amidst the surprised exclamations coming from Raiders as they scrambled to find cover. Dogmeat made quick work of anyone who was too slow.

"The General's back!"

Piper looked over her shoulder, spotting Preston rallying to the other Minutemen members. He raised his musket rifle in the air and gestured towards the stairs, leading to the first floor of the safehouse. There was nothing but fury in his eyes and Piper knew he was berating himself for not being able to protect the other settlers who couldn't make it to the safehouse with them.

 _"To the General!"_

The several members who survived the initial ambush let out a chorused war cry as they followed Preston, charging down the stairs with their weapons at hand. The sound of a door being burst open followed a moment later and the chaos outside got worse. Piper glanced over to where Nick was crouched behind a neighboring window. The detective let out a short chuckle before standing up and gesturing to follow the others.

"Come on, let's make sure they don't do anything stupid."

"I'll go up to the balcony and cover you guys," Deacon said, walking past them with a sniper rifle in his hand. He ran up the stairs leading to the third floor without another word.

Curie approached the trio, giving them a warm smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Be careful, _m_ _onsieur_ Valentine and _m_ _ademoiselle_ Piper. I will stay here and protect the civilians."

"It's probably better if you and the rest of the settlers go up to the attic too, Curie," Nick said, popping the chamber of his revolver and refilling it with bullets. "I don't know how things will play out at this point, but hopefully we'll all come out of this alive."

Curie looked towards the window, faith glimmering in her eyes. "Mademoiselle Jayd is with us now. We will surely win."

Piper let out a soft chuckle, slamming another magazine into her handgun. She pulled back the slide, hearing the satisfying click that indicated the gun was locked and loaded. "I'm sure she'll appreciate the vote of confidence, Curie."

Once Curie had instructed the settlers to head up to the attic, she and Nick headed for the stairs. Reaching the first floor, they simultaneously situated themselves on either side of the front door, their weapons at hand. Piper peeked an eye out of the corner to assess the current situation of the battlefield. The gunfight had evolved into an all around street brawl. Minutemen and Raiders were at each other's necks; swinging at each other with fists (power fisted or knuckles), their weapons, or a variety of bladed weapons. Apparently the Minutemen had decided to follow their General's lead and start bashing some heads in instead of shooting them. Piper could hear Cait's familiar maniacal laughter in the midst of the fists and metal meeting skin and flesh.

"This is what I call a good fightin'!" The fiery redhead swung a wooden bat, squarely smashing it into the face of a Raider.

"For a Combat Zone lady, I ain't surprised!" Hancock quipped, slashing his knife across his opponent's neck.

Not too far away, Dogmeat had his teeth around a screaming and struggling Raider's leg while one of the Minutemen smashed their head in with the butt of their musket rifle.

 _"Shit! This ain't worth it!"_

A gunshot rang through the air and Piper saw as one of the Raiders trying to escape dropped dead on the ground. Deacon's handiwork.

"Sorry! Running away is not an option this time!"

Where's Jayd? Piper thought, her eyes frantically searching for any signs of a green button down. It was the only shirt the Vault Dweller would always wear once it was clean enough. She spotted the person she was looking for a few moments later: Jayd shoved the muzzle of her pistol under a grimy Raider's chin, their life ending with one pull of the trigger. On the other hand was her combat knife, which was soaked in blood. Piper felt as if her heart leap up to her throat as Jayd was tackled down by another grungy looking Raider. Without a second thought, the reporter ran out the door and straight into the squabble.

"Piper!" Nick called after her.

She ignored him, dodging and weaving her way to where she had last seen Jayd. It wasn't as easy as she had thought it would be. Piper narrowly ducked under a flying fist head straight for her. She felt the air above her whoosh by as her hat was caught in the collision. Turning around, she slammed her foot as hard as she could into the back of the Raider's knee. They howled in pain, their hands instinctively latching onto their injured knee as they doubled over. Piper followed it up with a pistol whip across the back of their skull. She heard an audible crunch before they fell onto the ground limp. Piper didn't wasted any time finishing them off, someone else would have to do the job for her.

"Blue!"

Piper finally found her. She was held down by the same Raider and with the tip of a knife just inches away from her eye.

* * *

Jayd grunted, using every amount of strength she could muster. The tip of a knife's blade just inches from stabbing into her eye. The Raider cackled above her, grinning down at her with a dirtied, toothy grin. She saw nothing but murder mixed with crazy in his eyes.

"I'm gonna enjoy mountin' yer head on a pike, General."

The standstill seemed to last forever. Jayd could already feel her arms straining in her effort to keep the knife from being buried into her head. The Raider's grin grew wider as he watched her slowly losing the struggle.

"Hey, asshole!"

 _Bang!_

The Raider's eyes seemed to bulged out of their sockets as one of his hands released the handle of the knife, latching onto the bullet wound from his neck. Jayd pushed him off of her, relief washing over her. He would choke on his own blood within seconds. She rolled onto her hands and knees, her heart pounding against her chest, gasping in a mouthful of air.

 _Damn, that was too close._

"Blue."

Jayd looked up, knowing who that familiar voice belonged to. She couldn't help but smile, taking Piper's offered hand, and pulling herself off the ground. Those hazel eyes looked at her with nothing but relieved and loving affection. It had been weeks since they last saw each other and she knew the reporter would constantly worry about her if Jayd went off somewhere without her. Yet, their reunion was short lived when she spotted something moving over Piper's head and it was approaching them fast.

What happened next was more out of instinctive resolve to protect Piper than being heroic.

Jayd pushed her out of the way of oncoming Raider in Power Armor, but she wasn't quick enough to get out of its way herself. It felt as if a semi-truck had slammed right into her at full speed. She felt her breath being knocked right out of her body as she sailed through the air. Her body felt lighter, nearing the sensation of her floating in the air almost. But the world wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Jayd yelped in pain as she landed back onto the asphalt -hard.

" _Jayd!_ "

"Oh, _shite!_ "

"Somebody get the fuckin' tin can!"

"General!"

"Ah, shit!"

Jayd coughed, tasting nothing but salt and iron in her tongue. When she tried to move, an unbearable pain shot through her entire body. The ringing in her head also muffled out anymore sounds of the Minutemen fighting against the Raiders. It rendered her useless as she was splayed on the street with the world nothing but a blurred vision. A hulking, rusted orange figure stood before her. She heard muffled shouting - angry and panicked voices - followed by gunshots. The rusted metal silhouette suddenly disappeared, only to be replaced by a blurred color of red. She coughed once more and Jayd tasted her own blood in her mouth.

"Blue! Stay with me!" It was Piper's voice. "Oh, god - you're bleeding! Keep your eyes open for me, please! Please, don't - "

The world vanished into a dark void.


	3. One More Tomorrow

Sanctuary Hills was eerily quiet.

Piper let out a long drag from her cigarette, slowly blowing out the smoke through her lips. Then again, the gloomy atmosphere was understandable. Sanctuary managed to survive a raid that would've wiped any other settlement out of the map. Despite their efforts, not everyone came out of it alive nor unharmed. It took a couple of days to count their dead and then properly putting them in caskets. Some were buried and some were cremated in a bonfire. Then they decided to burn the Raiders' corpses in a separate bonfire rather than just tossing their bodies to the wild and letting whatever radiated creatures have at them. By the fourth day, everyone mourned for the people they lost. There was no planned get together or a soiree for the dead, everyone was given the opportunity to mourn in their own way.

A week had gone by since then; Those who recovered from minor injuries and given a clean bill of health from Curie, they quickly got to work on rebuilding the settlement's defenses and improving on the weak links. In the distance, the reporter could hear the familiar deep, baritone voice of Preston Garvey, as well as hammers rhythmically banging against wood and nail. Piper looked towards the garage just across the street, where Sturges and other mechanical types were busy building machine turrets with what whatever gears and springs they've got on hand.

Even if they could only build one or two, it would at least boost their chances of not getting jumped by Raiders ever again.

Piper let the cigarette dangle on corner of her lips, looking towards the horizon in a dazed state; oblivious to the figure approaching her from behind.

"Miss Wright?"

The reporter nearly jumped out of her seat, her hand instantly heading for the knife tucked and hidden inside her coat as she whirled around. The muscles in her body relaxed at the familiar sight of two, glowing yellow eyes looking down at her. She placed a hand against her chest, trying to calm her pounding heart. Her cigarette long forgotten on the ground.

"Jesus, Codsworth. A little warning next time?"

The Mr. Handy had the decency to sound guilty. "My apologies. Miss Wright. I did not mean to give you a scare."

Piper shook her head, smiling at him reassuringly. "It's okay, Codsworth. I just have a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Understandable, madam. We did just survived quite a bashing." Briefly, Codsworth went silent before one of his eyes bulbs blinked rapidly. "Now, what was I - ah, yes!" One of his mechanical arms handed her a package neatly wrapped in _Boston Bugle_ paper. "Here you go!"

Piper raised a brow, taking the package. "Who's it from?"

"Why, from my mistress, of course. She wanted to give it to you personally, but seeing as she's. . ."

"Codsworth - "

"Anywho!" Codsworth was suddenly back into his cheery, British accented mood. "Mum told me that if anything were to happen to her, I would be given the honor of delivering this package to you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must prepare a feast. Surely everyone will be quite famished after a long day's hard work."

Piper couldn't even get a word out as the Mr. Handy floated away. She stuttered, trying to form the correct words but none came out. Piper sighed softly, abandoning her effort to call Codsworth back as she looked down at the neatly wrapped parcel in her hands. It was a regular, small rectangular shaped box wrapped with the front line news of the _Boston Bugle._ There was a small card taped in the center, with one name neatly scribbled across its surface: _Piper_. The reporter felt her heart lodging itself into her throat once again, her fingers shakingly tracing the scripted black ink of her name. The familiar handwriting belonged to a certain Dweller. It bordered between the style of perfect cursives and "chicken scratches," as Jayd was fond of calling it.

Piper stared at her handwritten name for a few seconds more, fondly remembering a time when she would return from her office and there would be a small piece of paper with a small note inside. They varied between encouraging messages to words of adoration for her. Piper still kept those little notes inside her desk. She snapped out of her reverie, knowing the package wasn't going to miraculously open itself. Placing it on her lap, she carefully ripped away the newspapers; it revealed a beautifully made, mahogany box with _Wright_ skillfully carved across the center with the same handwriting.

"Oh, Blue. . ." Piper whispered under her breath, her voice cracking at the end.

There was only one latch and it was in the middle of the box's face. She wondered if the box itself was the gift or another item hidden inside the box. Yet, curiosity got the best of her as Piper pushed the latch open with a distinct _snap_. Without hesitation, she opened the box. Inside there was a single key tucked beside a holotape.

Piper had ran from many things, mostly for the sake of keeping herself alive. However, she shut the box and closed the latch before bolting out of her seat and gunning it towards the garage. She dashed past Sturges and his crew, ignoring their curious looks as she went straight into the office that had a working terminal inside.

In her anxious state, Piper fumbled with inserting the holotape in before it finally slipped into the receiver. The wait felt as if it lasted a lifetime before a voice began to play.

" _Hello? Is this thing recording? Hello."_

Piper had no words left in her, as she was seated before the terminal, listening to the holotape play out its recorded message with Jayd's voice - loud and clear:

" _Hey, Piper, if you're listening to this then something obviously has happened to me that I couldn't give you your gift myself and I had to make Codsworth do it for me,"_ Jayd's recorded voice chuckled softly. " _A total slave driver, am I right? Ahem, anyways. I've been thinking lately. . .with everything that's happened - helping the Minutemen only to become its next General. With Kellogg and finding out that Shaun is in the hands of the Institute's. Roaming the Commonwealth and lending a hand to those who needed help, even though I shouldn't waste any time looking for my nephew, rebuilding settlements and what not. Oh, dammit-I'm-rambling. What my point is - my future is uncertain, especially since I woke up in a world two centuries later with everything I knew about my world obliterated into dust. So, instead of shooting down every Raider, Super Mutant, radiated animal with the intent to kill out in the Commonwealth until I find a way to get Shaun back, I'd like to have a future - with you. The key that you found along with this holotape is the key to the Home Plate house in Diamond City. It's fairly big, from what Geneva told me. Bigger than most of the houses in the city so it's big enough for me, you, Nat, and eventually Shaun. If I survive whatever kept me from giving this to you, then answer this one thing for me."_

For a moment - the longest moment Piper might've experienced in her life - Jayd's voice was quiet before she began speaking again. This time, her voice was hopeful as it asked the biggest question the reporter would have to answer to:

" _Would you like to move in with me?"_

* * *

The first sensation Jayd felt was a headache. A slow and painful one.

It throbbed against her temples in a constant rhythm, it was somewhat bearable although an uncomfortable thorn to the head for who knows how long. She slowly opened her eyes, only to shut them tight when she caught a glimpse of the lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. She gave herself a minute or two before trying again, to let her eyes readjust to the sudden brightness. In the end, she still had to keep her eyes squinted until the light didn't made her eyes burn at the sight of it. Jayd slowly moved to sit up, groaning, her face cringing at the pain throbbing against her abdomen. Once she managed to prop herself against the headboard of the bed, with some difficulty since she could feel the stitches pulling slightly against her skin. It did dawn on her that she must've been severely injured enough that she needed stitches.

 _How long was I out for?_ She wondered, looking around to see she was in her room - her's and Piper's.

A surprised gasp came from the door.

"Blue. . .?"

Jayd looked towards the door, seeing Piper standing there - her mouth agape and her hazel-green eyes widened. She watched as the reporter's mouth opened and closed, as if trying to say something but couldn't exactly get it out. If the circumstances were different, Jayd would've commented how Piper was kinda imitating the "fish out of water" look. So, she just settled with a witty greeting.

"Hey there." Jayd winced, her voice sounding a bit raspy and not husky as she intended.

That seemed to snap Piper out of whatever had her glued by the doorway.

"You - you nearly died from a charging, power armored Raider freak- " Piper stammered, her voice quivering as she slowly approached her. " - had me worried for _days_ and the first thing you say is 'hey, there'?"

"I would've composed a ballad too, you know. But being unconscious most of the time really screwed that part of the plan," Jayd managed to utter. She spread her arms, ignoring the slight jolt of pain from her stitches. "Will the beautiful reporter settle for a hug instead?"

That seemed to snap the reporter out of her disbelief. Piper practically flew to her side as she collided into her embrace, nearly knocking Jayd back down onto the bed. Nonetheless, she held onto the other woman tightly; her arms looped around Piper's waist as she buried her face into the crook of her neck. Jayd smelled the familiar sweet but faint scent of Nuka Cola and bubblegum. It made her forget about the stitches that was keeping whatever awful wound she had suffered together, made her forget about the increasingly, growing headache that pounded against her skull.

For now, all Jayd cared about was Piper.

"Oh, _mum!_ "

The reporter bolted out of her arms, jumping onto her feet as a bright red blush streaked across her freckled face. The Vault Dweller sighed at the loss of her lover's warmth. Both women glanced at the door, seeing a certain Mr. Handy floating by.

"Mum! You're awake and alive!" Codsworth crossed the room and floated beside where Piper stood by her bedside. "Everyone will be _thrilled_ to hear the good news! We were so worried for you. You've been asleep for almost _two_ weeks. Better than another two hundred years, I suppose."

Jayd's eyes widened. Were her injuries _that_ severe?

Codsworth gasped, a realization dawning on him. "I-I'm _terribly_ sorry, mum! You must feel peckish. I shall fetch you some water and then a nice, hot meal! A Codsworth special, just for you!" He turned to Piper. "Please do look after my mistress for just a moment, Miss Wright. I will be right back!"

As soon as the Mr. Handy had came in, he was out the door within seconds, leaving the two women to themselves once more.

"So," Jayd said slowly. "Two weeks, huh?"

Piper nodded, sitting by the edge of the bed. "Yeah, Curie said you suffered a mild concussion from the fall - "

" - which explains the headache - "

" - plus a couple of bruised ribs along with a gash sliced down along your side. It didn't hit any major arteries or organs, but you would've. . ." Piper trailed off, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

"Hey, it's okay," Jayd whispered reassuringly, lacing her hands with Piper's. "In case you forgot, your girlfriend is stubborn. Especially when she has a perfect someone to come back to."

A smile spread across the reporter's lips as she looked down at their intertwined hands. "A 'perfect someone,' huh?"

Jayd winked. "Talking about you, Pipes."

Piper chuckled softly, looking up, gazing at the bedridden woman with nothing but absolute love. She pulled her hands away and placed them on either side of Jayd's face.

"I know," she whispered.

Jayd closed the small gap between them, pulling Piper back into her arms and holding her close.

In a neighboring room, the soft lullaby of _One More Tomorrow_ was playing.

* * *

 **Note:** Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading this story! I am still debating on whether to make a epilogue after this third chapter, but I am tempted to~. Tell what you guys think, if you want a epilogue or just happy with the three chapter story.


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